Three organic chemists have scooped the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research that represents a 鈥済reat step forward in 聭green chemistry'鈥�.
Yves Chauvin at the French Petroleum Institute in Rueil-Malmaison, France, Robert H Grubbs at the California Institute of Technology, California, US, and Richard R Schrock at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts, US, will share the 聙1.1 million prize.
They won the prize for their contributions towards understanding and harnessing an important type of organic reaction called 鈥渕etathesis鈥� 鈥� meaning 鈥渢o change places鈥�.
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In these reactions double bonds between carbon atoms 鈥� the basis of all life on Earth 鈥� are broken and formed in such a way that atom groups can be made to change places. To see an animation depicting this molecular dance, click .
This molecular partner-swapping occurs with the help of special catalysts 鈥� molecules which speed a reaction without being altered themselves.
鈥淢etathesis is used daily in the chemical industry, mainly in the development of pharmaceuticals and of advanced plastic materials,鈥� says the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobels. 鈥淢etathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of society and the environment.鈥�
Reactions 鈥榬ecipe鈥�
The work of the three Laureates has also led to more efficient, simpler and more environmentally friendly ways of synthesising drugs and plastics, the academy says.
In 1971, Chauvin uncovered the 鈥渞ecipe鈥� for metatheses reactions, explaining in detail how they function and what type of metal compounds act as catalysts.
In 1990, Schrock was the first to produce an efficient metal-compound catalyst for metathesis. And two years later, Grubb developed a better catalyst which was stable in air and so could be used for many applications.
鈥淐onsidering the short time during which Grubbs鈥� and Schrock鈥檚 catalysts have been available, the breadth of applications is truly remarkable,鈥� writes Per Ahlberg, an organic chemist at G枚teborg University, Sweden, and member of the Nobel committee for chemistry.
He notes that these catalytic reactions reduce the number of steps required to synthesise compounds and produce higher yields. 鈥淭his gives us novel possibilities to exploit the enormous diversity of organic molecules and contributes to a 聭greener鈥� chemistry,鈥� he says.